NASA Debunks Viral Claim of 7-Second Gravity Loss on Aug. 12

NASA has moved to definitively debunk a viral conspiracy theory claiming Earth would lose its gravitational pull for seven seconds on August 12, 2026, an event that was falsely predicted to cause catastrophic loss of life and global infrastructure collapse. The agency confirmed the scenario has no scientific basis and that the predicted time has now passed without incident.

The rumor, which circulated widely on social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok and X, alleged that intersecting gravitational waves from colliding black holes would cause gravity to shut off at exactly 1433 UTC, or 10:33 a.m. ET. Posts warned that people, vehicles and other unsecured objects could be thrown into the air, potentially resulting in tens of millions of deaths, widespread destruction and an economic collapse lasting more than a decade.

The claims were supposedly based on a leaked NASA document detailing "Project Anchor," an alleged $89 billion plan involving secret bunkers for essential personnel and a genetically diverse group selected to repopulate Earth. However, investigations found no evidence that such a document or project exists. The conspiracy was traced to a December 2025...